boondocking/battery life rockwood mini lite

[ebcastleman]

Hey everyone,
so my husband and I just purchased a 2020 Rockwood Mini Lite. We're planning to do about 50% hookup 50% boondocking as we go across the country. We have boondocked before in our previous "home"- a converted Dodge Ram 2500, and recharging the battery was simple (turn on the van). So this travel trailer is totally new to us.
Currently it has 2 batteries in it (we put in a second)- but I was reading here on the forum somewhere that the marine batteries that the dealership puts in (which we have two of) are pretty crappy.
I'm trying to figure out approx how long we'll be able to boondock as-is, and if there are different batteries that we could get that would extend our ability to boondock. Is 5 days in a row of boondocking out of the question? How could we make it so we could boondock as long as possible?

Also, I'm extremely not great about all the technical stuff. All the volts and wires and amps and valves and all the other things are so out of my ability to perceive what the heck is going on. It's so completely foreign to me and I don't really understand any of it- so think of me as like an 8 yr old child trying to comprehend this, haha.

Thanks you guys for any help

[njfishing]

A lot is going to depend on what your electric usage is going to be.. I have two 6 volt golf cart batteries and if we don’t run the furnace and keep the fridge and hot water heater on propane we can go 3 nights easily, maybe even 4. If we need to run the furnace, 2 nights max.

If you plan to boondock a lot, I would definitely consider getting a smaller 2000 watt generator to recharge your batteries. You simply plug your trailer into the generator and your on board charger will take care of that. If you wanted to run your air conditioner while plugged into the generator, then you’d want something in the 3000 - 3500 watt range. We bought a 3200 last year and boondocked for one week with the night temps in the low 40s so the furnace ran pretty frequently... We ran the generator for a hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and that kept the batteries charged.

Another option is to go solar but I don’t know enough about it to give you any advise other then it seems like the minimum you need is 250 watts. Also note that unlike a generator, solar does not really provide power to anything like your outlets or AC, instead recharges your batteries.

[bikendan]

Dry camping/Boondocking list:

1. At least 2 matching deep cycle batteries. Two 6v golf cart batteries are a good start but if you've got the money, AGM or Lithium Ion.
2. Inverter to run tv or charge electric devices.
3. 6 gallon water jug to shuttle water.
4. Tote tank for gray water.
5. Run furnace as little as possible since it's the biggest battery power drain.
6. Take Navy showers and use a tub for washing dishes and dump the used water down toilet.
7. Get a 2000w inverter generator for recharging and running the microwave if you need to unless you need to run the a/c. Then you'll need a bigger one.

[TitanMike]

The simple answer to whether or not your current batteries will last 5 days is "Depends".

How large are the batteries. There should be a BCI "Group Number" on a sticker, usually on top. It will be something like Grp 24x, 27x, or 31x. The "x" would usually be a letter that merely shows where the terminals are located, left, right, etc.

This Group number will help determine how much energy (amp hours) is available.

Next thing that will govern "how long" is how much of that energy you will use during your 5 days. If all you use electricity for is lights, refrigerator, and water pump 5 days on two fully charged batteries is doable. If you need the furnace and play the radio or watch TV a lot, probably not.

I have run two marine deep cycle Group 29 Interstate batteries for a week before they dropped to 50% but only used lights, refrig., and water pump. For entertainment at night I read a book and used only a single LED light.

Two things to make sure you enjoy your boondocking.

You could change your two 12 volt batteries to a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries in series. This will give you SOME more usable capacity and be more robust over many cycles.

You could invest in a small inverter generator that will charge the batteries. Lots of relatively inexpensive 2,000 watt units that weigh about 50 lbs (about the weight of a bag of dog food for a Great Dane). These units are nice and quiet and will charge your batteries through the onboard converter using less than a gallon of gas.

Another option would be a Solar Suitcase system that allows the sun to charge your batteries. This method is silent but requires plenty of sun during the day to fully charge batteries. The good news there is that you can leave it out all day (and night) so whenever you DO have sun, the batteries are receiving a charge.

In summary, If I owned your rig I'd leave the batteries as is for now and put my money in a small inverter generator. I have a larger one made by Champion which I've found to be 100% reliable although it weighs over 100#. On the plus side there, I can run my microwave and A/C unit if I want.

As you boondock more you'll get a feel for your needs and then decide on larger batteries, perhaps even Lithium batteries which provide more USABLE power at less weight. (expensive though). Use thee existing batteries until you get your money's worth out of them and use the generator for backup to get you through those five days to a week.


Some of us are hard core "boondockers" and can live off grid for months if we choose. That requires larger battery banks, Solar, and usually a generator to fall back on. Overkill for short trips so go slow at first. Your wallet will thank you

BTW, a great investment for anyone who boondocks, even for short periods of time, is a Battery Monitor. I prefer the Victron BMV 712 as it is simple to install, can send information to your smart phone, and will help avoid "battery anxiety" if wondering whether or not the batteries will last the night. It also tells you when you can shut down the generator when the batteries are TRULY at full charge. The push button/LED battery indicator supplied with new trailers is woefully inadequate in giving an accurate sense of battery State of Charge (SOC).

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by ebcastleman

Is 5 days in a row of boondocking out of the question? How could we make it so we could boondock as long as possible?

Five days in a row is not impossible, but you've got to camp as if you are tent camping. Use camping lanterns rather than the lights in your rig. Carry your water in jugs so that you don't use the water pump. Put ice in the refrigerator/fridge so that it will keep things cool and not turn on as often.

Even then, some things like the propane detector, radio, the refrigerator and water heater igniter will drain the battery(turn off water heater). All it requires is someone accidentally leaving on the bathroom light overnight will drain the battery. (Voice of experience here.. although with the newer LED fixtures that's not as much of a problem.)

If you can afford it and have the room, look for a dual fuel generator (propane/gas). Most of them use the same propane tanks that's on your rig and have a 30amp plug. That's the only way you can run an a/c. Hopefully you've got a truck bed to put it in.

Otherwise, try to find campsites with at least electricity to camp.

The batteries that dealers put in rvs are not necessarily 'crappy' batteries, but they usually have not been maintained properly which decreases their life.
Good luck.

[AlaskaErik]

One bit of advice on generators. A 2000 watt generator isn't really 2000 watts continuous. They tend to only supply a max of 1600 to 1700 watts continuously. My 2000 watt generator has stalled out when simply running the microwave, unless I first shut off the converter master switch. So my options are either run two 2000 watt units in parallel or upgrade to a larger generator. I have the cheapy A-I generators from Costco, so that may be part of the problem. I suspect a Honda 2000 would do much better, but at twice the cost.

[tomkatb]

A marine battery is simply a more robust car battery.

Has the more limited cycles of a car battery. So expected life is shorter.

If taken care of it will last years. Abuse it and it will last a year.

If you check water levels and do not discharge over 50%. They are ok.

Six volt golf cart batteries are true deep cycle. Likely have double the number of recharges of a car battery. Usually a few more amps. Roughly the same price.

Not as capable of large discharges which is usually irrelevant in an rv.

If you do not have a lithium battery set up I find sufficient information from a Bluetooth voltmeter. Amazon BM2 for $30. A meter that transmits to your phone is a good plan. Quick installation. You have to learn to read it thou.

[njfishing]

Some great advise above, especially about not discharging your batteries to less than 50%. Here is a chart for you and you'll see you don't want to run them down below 12.18 volts or you will shorten the life of your batteries.

If you don't want to invest in a real battery monitor, a quick cheap solution is one of these which plugs into you cigarette lighter adapter and reads voltage.

Quick tip here... Your battery is always going to read higher voltage during and right after it's been charged. You'll want to wait an hour or so after charging for an accurate reading.


https://www.amazon.com/LIHAN-Charger...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[UT_Grandpa]

I have an inverter generator (Honda 2200i) that I carry in case the sun doesn't shine. I use two 100 Watt Renogy solar panels and a Renogy MPPT charge controller connect directly to the batteries. I have two group 24 RV deep cycle batteries. My panels are portable so they can follow the sun - point East in the morning and West in the evening. My batteries have returned to full charge by about noon in either winter or summer. I use a CPAP machine and I run the furnace in the winter and keep it about 58 degrees at night.

My biggest limit when boon docking is water. I can dump the gray water into the sagebrush, if needed, but getting more water is a 50 mile trip in some cases so I haul an extra 10 gallons in plastic jugs. No microwave, no TV when we boondock - no problems.

[jackconn]

All good advice above. Yes, this can get very complicated and very technical with no perfect answers. The best summary was, "It depends." What I didn't see was the suggestion to get a battery monitor system that allows you to see what your current rate of discharge (Amps) is. The current current, if you will. We had big battery problems on our first major voyage cross-country and the best advice I got from a good full-timer friend was to install a TriMetric Battery Monitor. Best $200 I ever spent. I installed it in the campground at Lake Tahoe. It's not very complicated but well worth paying someone if it's too intimidating. I have the display double-sticky taped to the wall next to my side of the bed and the last thing I do is check to see if we've left anything on like the bathroom fan or porch light (can be tough to tell if there are other campground lights around). Plus it will tell you exactly how much power is consumed by various loads - you might be surprised how much the awning motors will draw so I don't extend the awning if trying to conserve. Another surprise is device chargers, so I'll charge cell phones in the car rather than overnight. As other people have described, little things add up. You can't figure any of this out without a way to tell exactly how much you're consuming - plus the obvious benefit of monitoring the exact status of the batteries. Enjoy!
Battery Monitors - Bogart Engineering

[sasch]

In My Opinion - Easiest and best solution - 1) an Easy-Air Soft Start installed on your AC which will allow your AC unit to run with a 2) a good & quiet 2000 watt generator (doesn't have to be Honda but there are good brands @ half the price), 3) 2ea good condition size 27 marine batteries - should get you a couple days without charging depending on how frugal you are with electric use. This system has worked very well for me for a 2 week outback Boondock in Elk country and felt like I was living in full UN-wanting luxury. I would like to look into solar at some point but right now the costs go well beyond a few gals of generator fuel (use rec 100% gasoline).

[Pldcoyote]

We have a 2018 Rockwood Minilite 2104S and use it a lot, hot, cold, shore power, or not. Boondocking with 2 6v Golf cart batteries and a 140w.solar panel and sunny days, we never run out of power or drop below 12.3v even with furnace use. Of course, you cannot use your AC.

[davesmith26]

One of the largest consumers of battery power is your rv furnace. We purchased an olympian wave heater which comes in 3 different sizes depending on the size of your unit. It uses very little propane and absolutely no electricity while heating your unit very comfortably. These wave heaters are highly rated on the internet by many people that have used them for years. They do need a window slightly opened for air flow ventilation. Check them out.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by davesmith26

One of the largest consumers of battery power is your rv furnace.

I read this all the time yet I don't experience that. By observing the actual current draw shown on my Victron monitor when running my TV and DVD player along with a light or two, the power draw is more than when my furnace is actually running. According to the manual that came with my furnace it only draws 2.8 amp when running. This is for a 19,000 BTU model which heats my 25' TT very nicely. Of course if one has a larger furnace to heat a much larger RV the current draw can go up to 9.5 amp for a 40,000 BTU furnace which is expected. In short, the furnace isn't always the largest user of power,it's going to depend on the size of furnace you have.


Just like at home I set my furnace thermostat back to a lower temp at night (house T-stat does it automatically) to save energy. Both natural gas and electricity. In the trailer I drop the temp down to 60 degrees and then just use an extra blanket or sleeping bag opened up and spread over the bed to keep warm.

Of course everyone is different and needs a warmer environment. I've visited some people who keep their RV's warm enough to raise tropical plants. I'm sure that their furnaces run longer and consume more electricity.